Valve-gear for gas-engines.



W. H. SCHOONMAKER.

VALVE GEAE EOE GAG ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-.14,1B05.

f Patented Aug. 25, 1914-.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

@NV I -HIWWHMW WITNESSES:

W. H. SGHOUNMAKER.

VALVE GEAR FOR GAS ENGINES.

..11 L10ATI0N FILED JAN.14, 19,05.

l, 1 08,249 Patented Aug. 25, 191L y 2 SHBETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: l INVENTOR WILLIAM n. senoounannn, or non/resem, new teaser.

verrassen non oasnnentns.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed-January 14, 1965. Serial No. 241,926.

To all :whom t may concern Be 1t known that I, WILLrAM H. Scnoonf MAK-nii, a citizen of the United States, and

a resident of Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and in )roved Valve-Gear for Gas-Engines, of whizh the following is a full. clear, and exact description.

The invention relates particularly to a two cycle gas or explosive engine, but it embodies various principles which are applica'hle .to other types of engines which will fully appear hereinafter.

The object of my invention is to construct an engine which may he readily started and governed and kept under the complete control of the operator, both. with respect to regulation of the speed and the reversal of its direction of movement.

To these ends the invention involves certain novel features ot' construction and arrangement of parts. which will appear hereinafter and heyarticularly pointed out in the claims.

Hereinafter referencewill he had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate as an example the preferred embodiment of my invention, in which drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts in hoth ot' the views, and in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a three cylinder engine embodying my invention-this view showingV part of the cam shaft and its gear in section; and 'Fie'. 2 is a vertical section throun'l'i one of the cylinders on essentially the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

The cylinders 10 may he water jaclretcd, if desi-red, and are mounted on a suitable onse 11. Said cylinders are provided with valve boxes l2 having inlet ports 14 controlled hy inwardly opening poppet valves 15. The cylinders are also provided with exhaust ports 16 uncovered by the pistons when their respective cranks are at the bottom centers or thereahouts.

17 indicates a source of supply oii a coinbustilole mixture of air and gaseous fuel under pressure sufficientto cause it to flow through. the ports 14 and into the cylinders 10, the port arrangement heing.,r such that as the charge enters through the port le when the piston is at its outer position and the exhaust port uncovered, said charge will sweep through the cy inder, clearing; out ahead of it the products of the previous combustion orexplosion within the cylinder. In this mannertlie charge enters the cylinder when the piston is at its .outer position, andthe cylinder is at the sainel time ett'ectually scavenged of the burnt gases lying therein.

The pistons 18 are V'connected with' the crank shaft 19 ley rods 2O in the usual manner, and said shaft is provided with a. spur gear 2l having at each side-annular guide.

flanges 22. Said gear is meshed with a gear Patented Aug. 25, 1914. Y

23 ot size equal to that of the gear 2l and Y splined on a sleeve 24, which in turn fits loosely on a full 'speed cam shaft 25.

26 indicates alever or other suitable .means for imparting a sliding movement to the sleeve 24.. During this operation the gear 23 transmits notary movement to the sleeve, and said fear is preventedlrom sliding by means of the guide tlanges 22 on the gear 2l.

27 indicates a. bracket engaging the hub of the wheel 23 and projecting` -from the frame of the, engine, which serves also to hold the gear in place. The slcevel is provided interiorly with spiral groove 2S or erpiivalent screw device which receives a pin orstud 29 carried on the cam shaft 25. Therefore, upon sliding the sleeve 2%,..since said sleeve is held Afrom rotation hy the gear 23 and its connections. the shaft 25 being incapable of axial. movement (by ,reason of the hox 25a or other means) .vill'he forced Vto turn and in this nu ocr the cams are shifted to reY se the cui, all of which will he hrougl t out full;v` hei' Splined the slr which is formed an aiuiular. head 3l and a Cain for each inletvaljve, said cams heine` spaced from their corresponding heads sufficienti to germitthe stein rollers ill-l to hear on r "iecvc lll between the cams und the he; that no movement, will he imparted to the stein rollers. Said rollers 33 are attached to the valve stems Sfiand these stems project. thro i suitable stuffing boxes into connection h the respective valves. AsFigg. 2 illustrates, 35 indicates expansive springs acting liftween the valve Ahores l2 and f .zollars 3o on the Steins 3l.

These springs serve to keep the valves l5 seated against the pressure vof the gaseous mixture in the conduit 1"?, and are overcome.l however., 4by 'the action of the cams 32 and heads 3l so as to permit opening the valves. 37 indicates a governor which mayl be of any type desired. This governor is connected hy -alinlSS to a collar S9 carried on the sli-aft. 25. Said collar is termed with Vil() lugs 40 terminating in ianges 41. These lugs slide in openings 42 formed in the sleeve30, and the end of the sleeve adjacent to said collar 39 is formed with fianves 43.

' sleeve. The sleeve, however, is moved left- Ward upon the leftward movement of the collar 39 through the medium of an expansive spring 45 which encircles the shaft 25 land which is connected with the collar and 'with the sleeve.

46 indicates a lever or other means in connection with the sleeve 30 for shifting the vsame on the'shaft 25. This lever is nor- 'mally free to allow it to swing idly under 'the governor action' imparted through the sleeve 30. A quadrant is shown in Fig. 1 which may be employed to hold the lever if desired but in normal operation it is free.

In the operation of the apparatus, assuming the gaseous mixture is under pressure in the conduit 17, to start the engine the lever 46 should be operated to slide the sleeve 30 toward the right so that the beads 31 ride under the stem rollers 33 and lift all of the inlet-valves from their seats. This will charge all of the cylinders with the gaseous mixture, and since three cylinders are pr'ovided and their pistons are in connection with cranks at 120o angle lon the shaft 19,.

it follows that at least one of these pistons will be at or near firing position. The lever 46 and sleeve 30 should now be returned to the position shown in Fig. 1, either by direct manual action or by releasing the manual pressure on the lever and allowing the pressure of the spring 45 to act. This closes the valves 15 through the action of springs 35. An igniting apparatus, preferably of the electrical or -other usual sort, as will be fully understood from the prior art, should be provided, and at this time the spark apparatus should be adjusted and operated so as to ignite the charge of the cylinder whose piston is in position for firing. In Fig. 2

a jump spark igniter is conventionally illustrated at 50. An expansive stroke will then follow and the engine will take up its movement in the usual manner. The governor' 37 acting on the sleeve 30 through the spring 45, and collar 39 will move the sleeve leftward until the cams 32 act properly on the valve-stems and then the operation of the engine becomes normal. It will be observed that the sleeve 30 will be continually under the action of the governor, and since the cams 32 taper from the plane of the sleeve up te their highest point, by moving the sleeve as described, the action of the inlet# valves may be regulated so as to regulate ently of that imparted to it from the geari 23, and this will give the sleeve 30 an independent turning movement, and in this manner the position of the cams 32 maybe so adjusted as to reverse the order of operation of the inlet valves and bring about a reversal of the movement of the engine. The sparking gear, of course, should be correspondingly reversed. The type of engine here illustrated as having my invention applied thereto being of the two stroke cycle class and capable of operating in either direction, no change in the exhaustf is necessary to effect this reversal. When the lever 46 is operated to slide the sleeve 30 rightward, the spring 45 is compressed, the sleeve then moving independently of the collar 39. Upon returning the lever 46 and sleeve-30, the parts again take the position shown in Fig. 1, whereupon the action of the governor through the spring 45 will shift the sleeve 30 farther leftward and bring into operation the cams 32 as before described.

In connection with certain of the claims in this ease it is pointed out that the sleeve 30 and its cams constitute an actuating element for the valves; that is to say, it actuates them. And it is also pointed out that the valve driver is the crank shaft of the engine or any intermediate element serving as the driving part for the valve mechanism in addition to any other purpose that it may serve. therefore are moving or rotating members actuating element and the valve driver or crank shaft, and the sleeve 24 is a relatively shiftablc part which has sliding engagement with the gear and, by its spiral groove 28. screw connection with the shaft.

Various changes in the form, proportions and minor details of my invention may be resorted to at will, without departing frown the spirit and scope thereof; hence I consider myself entitled to all such variations as may lie within the terms of my claims.

Having thus described the preferred form of my invention, lwhat I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a gas engine, the combination with an inlet valve, of a cam shaft, fixed bearings for the shaft, means for rotating the shaft, means for turning the shaft independently of the rotating movement, a sleeve splined on the shaft and having a cam thereon for operating said valve, and means for manually shifting the sleeve longitudinally of the shaft.

2. In a engine the combination with a The gear 23 and shaft 25" respectively in connection with the valve valve thereof and its actuating cam and the prime mover shaft, of two rotatable members respectively in connection with said cam and shaft and a relatively shiftable part having screw connection with one of the rotatable members and longitudinal sliding connection with the other, whereby said shiftablc part connects the two rotatable members to turn together, but by shifting said part the relative positions of the rotatable members are changed to change the action of the cam on the valve.

3. In a gas engine, the combination with the inlet valve thereof and its actuating cam and the prime mover shaft, of two rotatable members respectively in connection with said cam and shaft and a relatively shiftable part having screw connection with one of the rotatable members and longitudinal sliding connection with the other, whereby said shiftable part connects the two rotatable members to turn together, but by shifting said part the relative positions of the rotatable members are changed to change the action of the cam on the valve, means for supplying' an explosive charge under pressure to the inlet valve and means for manually lifting the inlet valve from its seat.'

4. In a gas engine, the combination with an inlet valve, meansfor supplying thereto an explosive mixture under pressure, of a cam shaft, xed bearings for the shaft, means for rotating the shaft, means for turning the shaft independently of the rotating movement, a sleeve splined on the shaft and having a cam thereon for operating said valve, means for manually shifting the sleeve longitudinally of the shaft, anda bead on the sleeve adjacent to but separate from the cam to raise the valve from its seat upon manually shifting the sleeve.

5. In a gas engine, the combination with a valve thereof and its actuatinglcam and the prime mover shaft, of two rotatable members respectively in connection with said cam and shaft and a relatively shiftable part having screw connection with one of the rotatable members and longitudinal sliding connection with the other, whereby said shiftable part connects the two rotatable members to turn together, but by shifting said part the relative positions of the rotatable members are changed to change the action of the cam on the valve, a governor and means placing it in connection with the cam, automatically to control the 'position ofl the cam without interference with the aforesaid action of said rotatable members.

6. The combinationv in a gas engine of means for supplying an explosive mixture under pressure, an inlet valve, a cam shaft and complementary devices for operating the inlet valve from the cam shaft, means for rotating the cam shaft from and in unison with the engine prime mover shaft, means for manually changing the position of the cam shaft relatively to the prime mover shaft, and means for lifting the inlet valve independently of the action of the cam.

7. The combination in a gas engine of the inlet valve thereof, a cam shaft and cam for operating the valve, a driving means, and devices for transmitting motion from said driving ineans'to the cam shaft, such devices i including parts having screw engagement with each other, and one of said parts being' relatively movable to change at will the position of the cam shaft relatively to the driving means and without interfering with the normal rotation of the parts, means for supplying an explosive mixture under pressure to the inlet valve and means for manually raising the inlet valve.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM H. SCHOONMAKER.

Witnesses:

ISAAC B. OWENS, JNO. M. RITTER. 

